Watch: Citizen arrested in possession of human skull in Zambézia

11:24 CAT | 20 Jun 2017

TVM

A third man has been arrested in Zambézia in possession of a human skull – supposedly that of a bald person.

The suspect, who has confessed, was detained last Wednesday (June 14) in the district of Milange, which along with Morrumbala on the border with Malawi, is currently beset by the wave of assaults on and murders of bald people on the false belief that “every bald man has gold”.

The man told the police and the press that he was contacted by a friend who asked him to source the skull of a bald man, for which he would receive an undisclosed amount of money.

When the accused fell into the hands of the law, he was on his way to meet the alleged buyer in a previously agreed place, which was likewise not revealed.

According to police in Zambézia, since March of this year, when it first heard about the hunting and murder of bald men, at least 18 bodies have been exhumed in various cemeteries.

Last week, police General Command spokeswoman Inacio Dina said that the persecution and murder of bald individuals was spurred on by superstitious rituals with cultural motivations involving beliefs, allegedly encouraged by traditional doctors, that the heads of the victims have the power to generate wealth.